This invention relates to conveyor chain and, more particularly, to an improved conveyor chain for use in a product capturing conveyor.
Product capturing chains have been used in the past for elevating articles from one level to another in a conveyor system. These chains are made up of a roller base chain with a snap-on metal top plate having a resilient attachment. Two strands of chain are run parallel to each other so that the resilient attachments oppose each other, picking up articles in their path by squeezing the articles between two opposing resilient attachments. The chains are able to flex in order to raise or lower the articles being conveyed, and then the two strands of chain separate, depositing the articles on a platform or conveyor at a different level.
The present invention improves on those chains in several respects. The product capturing chains of the prior art included several different pieces--a roller chain, a snap-on top plate, and a resilient attachment. They were difficult and expensive to assemble due to the number of pieces and the method by which the attachments were held on the chain. The top plate included two welded-on studs, which were inserted into holes in the resilient attachment to retain the attachment. Welding was an expensive operation on each link, and, of course, the existence of welds provided a place for the assembly to fail. Also, the heat of welding might tend to distort the flight, so it would not run true on the supporting track. Welding also reduced the corrosion resistance of the parts. The holes in the resilient attachment provided a place for fatigue failure to begin as the attachment repeatedly flexed, picking up and releasing articles.